


Growing a Backbone

by Luckybanana948



Series: Purpled and Ranboo duo [2]
Category: Minecraft (Video Game), Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Fear of Death, Gen, How Do I Tag, Peer Pressure, Purpled is proud, Ranboo grows a backbone, Ranboo talks about how his body reacts to water, Stress, good friend Purpled, minor descriptions of injury, no beta we die like l'manburg, spoilers: not well, they're best friends your honor, this duo lives in my head rent free, we back with best friends Purpled and Ranboo
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-01
Updated: 2021-02-01
Packaged: 2021-03-12 19:28:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,697
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29140773
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Luckybanana948/pseuds/Luckybanana948
Summary: “What? how does Sky Wars change the fact I have the backbone of a chocolate éclair?”Purpled sighed “Think about your interactions on the smp like a Sky Wars match..."Ranboo is getting pressured to do something less than ideal  when the words of his best friend come back to him in his time of need.
Relationships: Grayson | Purpled & Ranboo (Video Blogging RPF), Jack Manifold & Toby Smith | Tubbo, Ranboo & Jack Manifold, Ranboo & Toby Smith | Tubbo
Series: Purpled and Ranboo duo [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2117103
Comments: 6
Kudos: 221
Collections: Completed stories I've read





	Growing a Backbone

**Author's Note:**

> YOOOOOOOOOO I'm back bois with our regularly scheduled divorcing of canon. Sorry for the wait my motivation was wack and would only let me write like half of a story at a time before my attention was gone so I got multiple half finished works until today so enjoy this addition to Purpled and Ranboo being best friends because screw canon.

Ranboo was currently planting berries all around Snow Chester. He made regular visits to the place to keep replanting as the three residents kept removing some of them due to the annoyance the plants brought. He liked keeping the nuisance plants plentiful as a way to annoy his friend. Ranboo was an advocate for harmless pranking where no one is left feeling hurt afterwards. So far Tubbo had been a bit exasperated with Ranboo’s berry planting antics but not angry or upset so Ranboo kept it up making sure to pay attention to make sure he did not take it too far. 

Ranboo had just finished replacing the berry plants that had gone absent since his last visit when Tubbo found him. 

“Again Ranboo? Why are you so determined to fill my country with berry plants?” Tubbo called from where he stood a few feet away. 

Ranboo straightened from where he stood crouched and turned to his friend “Because, berries” he said gesturing to the plants around him. Ranboo decided to not point out his friend calling the area around him a country and not a collective as he has been claiming it is. Yet another reason to not get invested in Snow Chester, just visit, plant berries, and leave. 

Tubbo sighed, “Thats not an answer but whatever I’m glad you are here Ive been waiting for your next visit!” As he spoke Tubbo walked closer and grabbed Ranboo’s hand pulling him towards the center of Snow Chester. 

“Wait why?” Ranboo followed easily as his friend pulled him along. 

“Because memory boy I’ve been thinking more into trying to fix that head of yours” 

“Oh... did you come up with a new plan?” Ranboo looked at the back of his friend’s head wondering what his plans were this time. Last time after the anvil Tubbo had tried to get him to go under water without armor for eight hours and Ranboo had quickly declined and departed before Tubbo could presurre him further. Ranboo had accepted long ago that his memory would never be normal but Tubbo felt differently and really wanted to try his ideas and Ranboo hadn’t been able to say no. 

“Well not exactly I’ve been adjusting my previous idea” Tubbo responded brightly. 

Ranboo stopped pulling his hand out of the shorter boy's grasp “You mean the one with-” Ranboo didn’t finish his sentence instead looked towards the submerged structure Tubbo had pointed out the previous time he had brought up this plan. 

Tubbo turned to look and the enderman hybrid “Before you say no hear me out” Tubbo tried placatingly. 

“Tubbo it’s water I can’t” Ranboo started. 

“I know I know, asking for you to submerge yourself for eight hours was aggressive. But I’ve redone the math the water is colder now and you would only be there for four hours. We’ve put a chair in that you can tie yourself to so you don’t have to worry about floating up to the surface and-” 

Ranboo jumped in before he could finish “Tubbo your insane! I can’t I-I just can’t” Ranboo brain just then processed another piece of information. “Wait who’s we? who's helping you?” 

“I am” Ranboo jumped and whirled around to see Jack standing just a few feet away. Ranboo couldn’t help but wonder how long he had been there as the hybrid had not heard his approach. 

“Jack’s been helping me brainstorm” Tubbo confirmed. 

Jack took a step closer with a look Ranboo couldn’t quite place “I saw how excited Tubbo was about this project and offered assistance he’s been working really hard on it and I would hate for that hard work to go to waste.” Jack voice had a hard edge to it that screamed danger. 

The hybrid did not trust Jack, he seemed... unstable like at any moment he could snap. He had noticed the changes he had seen in Jack in his time on the smp and it made him uneasy. Years of fighting in Hypixel taught him to notice things others wouldn’t. A key to fighting is to read your opponent and be able to know how they would attack so you are prepared to defend it. Since he’d noticed the changes in the man he’d attempted to avoid being in his company for too long, but as he and Tubbo got closer that became harder for the hybrid to accomplish without cutting contact with his friend. His friend who was currently trying to kill him. 

“C’mon Ranboo” Tubbo’s plea cut through Ranboo’s thoughts. “I’m so sure this will work you can’t just not do it.” 

“The water-” Ranboo tried again only to be cut off by Jack 

“Enough about the water I’ve seen you in water before besides your only half Enderman it can’t be that bad. If you actually wanted to remember you would be down there right now repairing it.” Jack’s voice was angry and his posture was aggressive seemingly ready to force the half ender into their chamber of agony under the guise of helpfulness. 

Static formed in Ranboo’s head as his mind whirled in panic. Trying to come up with a way to explain. Tell them how even with his armor the water stung like an itch over his entire body. How it felt like his body was buzzing with an unknown energy as his head screamed to get out. How without his armor it was agony, burning all over his body burning that was slow, it would take a long time for him to die from the water but four hours Ranboo figured that would be long enough. even if it wasn’t four hours of burning like you are in the center of a explosion with no end in sight as you body slowly and painfully starts to melt away from you skeleton. He did not think he could ever mentally come back from that experience. 

Ranboo felt someone grab his arm and pull him towards the water Ranboo’s panic grew he had to stop them how though? they wanted this, they weren’t listening how? Howhowhowhowhowhowhowhow- 

Suddenly the panic was gone his brain honing in on a memory from a few days ago 

~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

“You need to stand up for yourself more” 

Ranboo had been caught off guard by the statement and turned to his friend who was leaning against the wall watching him intently. 

“I’m sorry?” Ranboo asked confused 

“Back before L’manburg was a crater I saw it all the time, you would have ideas or opinions and everyone would talk over you, make you do things you were clearly uncomfortable with, heck you even participated in the butcher army when it was obvious you would have rather been anywhere else.” Purpled elaborated “You need to be able to say no to people man. Stop trying to agree with everyone for fear of them being mad just be you and if they don’t like it screw em their stupid.” 

“I- I dunno man I just I mean I’d love to be like that but how?” 

Purpled stared at him for a minute thinking before speaking “If you were in a Sky Wars match and someone was staring you down challenging you to a duel would you run and hide on your island?” 

“No I would’ve fought him” Ranboo answered instantly wondering how this had anything to do with the problem at hand 

“Even if he had better gear? What if he was teaming against you with someone?” 

“I would have fought” Ranboo said firmly. “I’ve won plenty of matches less geared than my opponents and I hate teamers of course I would fight.” 

“Even if it meant possibly losing the match?” 

“Yes” 

Purpled made a there you go gesture as if that interaction solved all his problems. 

“What? how does Sky Wars change the fact I have the backbone of a chocolate éclair?” 

Purpled sighed “Think about your interactions on the smp like a Sky Wars match, someone tries to make you do something you don’t want to do? bam they’ve challenged you to a duel. More than one person pressuring you? They’re teamers. Are you going to back down from the duel and hide on your island or are you going to fight show them what you are made of and make yourself known.” 

Ranboo stared at his friend it made some sense “but that still doesn’t tell me how to do it” 

Purpled sighed again “Look dude I dunno just that feeling when your in a Sky Wars match? Make every day feel like that, you own Sky Wars matches and you own your life. Just summon what you use in your fights and use it in your words and stand your ground. We’ve sparred, I know you could take on almost anyone on this server if you wanted to. Fun thing is they don’t know that, none of them have seen you in an actual fight. Use that to your advantage. You’re strong bro, don’t let people push you around and forget that.” 

Ranboo nodded along before making brief eye contact with his friend “I’ll try” 

~~~~~ 

Ranboo felt something in his chest swell at the memory ‘I’m being teamed against’ that thought spurred him into action. Ranboo ripped his arm out of Jack’s grip and as Jack turned towards him mouth open ready to speak, berate him into obeying Ranboo made eye contact with him and Jack stood frozen. Ranboo kept eye contact as he said with more steel than either of the duo had ever heard come from the quiet hybrid “I said no. I am not going in the water without my armor Tubbo I suggest you move your focus to more productive activities.” 

Ranboo turned freeing Jack from his gaze and left Snow Chester and two stunned figures in his wake. 

Thirty minutes later Purpled whooped as Ranboo told him what happened as Purpled started grabbing things to celebrate the victory Ranboo wrote down the experience in great detail in his memory book to make sure he never forgot the first time he truly stood up for himself on this smp. the two celebrated late into the night making a mess of the UFO.

**Author's Note:**

> Man I had a bit of trouble writing Tubbo even though I watch a lot of his streams I just could not seem to get it to work for a fat minute but here it is. I hope Y'all enjoy this I'm really proud of the end result I wanted Purpled to help Ranboo with his backbone the second I made this au but today I was struck with the thought of him comparing it to skywars and motivation finally went brrrr.
> 
> Also Ranboo and Purpled not swearing is throwing me for a loop whenever I go to write a line with a curse and remember they don't swear.


End file.
